Bring out that cream and crimson you’ve been hiding since the days of Bobby Knight, Hoosier fans.

According to both the Associated Press and the USA Today Coach’s Poll, the Indiana Hoosiers sit atop the preseason rankings. It may be a little early to say so, but given the strength of the returning roster and the addition of a strong recruiting class, Tom Crean’s squad appears set to win both a Big Ten Championship and make a serious run at a National Championship. Congratulations (along with great expectations) are in order for Indiana center Cody Zeller, who nearly unanimously took Preseason All-American honors.

Image courtesy sportsillustrated.cnn.com

It needs to be pointed out how intensely midwest the preseason rankings are. Take the top five, for example. Behind Indiana is Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio State and Michigan; all are no more than about six hours from each other. Also in the top 25 are Michigan State, Missouri, Memphis, Notre Dame and Cincinnati.

The Big Ten Conference appears like it is going to be hotly contested. Five teams are ranked in the Top 25 and well-coached clubs like Purdue and Minnesota ensure that once the Big Ten schedule begins, every game has the potential for an upset.

I plan to cover Indiana-based teams this year including your Butler Bulldogs, Indiana Hoosiers, Notre Dame Irish, and Purdue Boilermakers. Obviously, as the season progresses and the NCAA Tournament nears, we’ll talk about teams like IUPUI and Valparaiso should they get called on Selection Sunday.

Moving to the schedule.

Indiana opens play at home against Bryant University on Friday, November 9th at 8:00pm ET.

Purdue’s first game is at home against Bucknell on Friday, November 9th at 7:00pm ET.

Notre Dame begins its season at home against Evansville on Saturday, November 10th and a start time has yet to be announced.

Butler takes on Elon at home on Saturday, November 10th and starts at 2:00pm.